Gunmen in the early hours of Wednesday killed 13 members of a family when they attacked Agudu, a Bassa community in Kogi State.
The attackers, it was learnt, also killed a man who rushed toward the scene on hearing gunshots from his neighbour’s compound, making the number of those killed 14.
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It was learnt that some people also sustained injuries during the onslaught which lasted for over one hour.
The Senior Special Assistant on Security to Governor Yahaya Bello for the local government, Isah Abdulkareem, who confirmed the incident to journalists, said he got a call from Bassa Youth Forum at about 2:30 am over the attack.
He said the attack happened in the wee hours when people were asleep, describing the incident as very saddening.
He said he had reached out to security agencies who had deployed officers to the scene.
Daily Trust reports that hostility between Ebirra and Bassa-Komu ethnic groups had resulted in bloody clashes in the past in the area.
However, there had been a cessation of conflict following interventions by the state government, security agencies and stakeholders from both sides.
The SSA said the identity of perpetrators of the current crisis could not be immediately ascertained, adding that the Commissioner of Police, Ede Ayuba and heads of other security agencies were in the affected community to assess the situation a few hours after the incident.
The CP later told reporters in Lokoja that corpses were being evacuated when he arrived in the community while two other victims died in hospital.
He said he got a call from the SSA on security to Governor Bello that the community was under attack and immediately called the Area Commander and the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area to mobilise to the scene.
The CP said the attackers went straight to the affected compound on entering the community.
He confirmed that the only family member who survived the attack was helping the police in their investigation.
142 killed, 44 abducted in Northern Nigeria in 1 week – Report
No fewer than 142 Nigerians have been killed in various violent attacks in the northern part of the country, while 44 others were kidnapped within one week, a security report by an America-based think-thank, the Council of Foreign Relations, has shown.
The CFR, according to the report posted on its official blog on Monday, said various incidents perpetrated by Boko Haram, bandits, kidnappers, militiamen, state actors among others happened between July 18 and 24.
It noted that it tracked the insecurity across Nigeria “using information from newspapers and families of victims of various violent attacks”, with Kaduna State on top of the tally.
The breakdown of the report shows that on July 18, a bomb explosion killed six children in Malumfashi, Katsina and on the same day, kidnappers killed two vigilantes in Gassol, Taraba while six victims were abducted in Chikun, Kaduna.
At least, 23 Nigerian soldiers and 17 bandits were killed during a clash in Jibia, Katsina while Boko Haram also killed three in Chibok, Borno.
On July 19, according to the report, suspected herdsmen killed 21 civilians and one police inspector in Kaura, Kaduna while a joint task force killed four kidnappers in Lokoja, Kogi the same day.
Suspected Fulani militia killed 11 persons in Zangon Kataf, Kaduna and bandits kidnapped 16 in Rafi, Niger State while a military airstrike killed “several” (estimated at 10) bandits in Talata-Mafara, Zamfara on July 20.
The death toll rose on July 21 with sectarian violence that led to three deaths in Kauru, Kaduna and bandits also killed not less than three persons in Batsari, Katsina the same day.
Similarly, kidnappers killed one police officer and kidnapped four in Akamkpa, Cross River on July 22. Boko Haram also killed five kidnapped aid workers in Borno, while kidnappers abducted 17 people in Safana, Katsina.
Military airstrikes killed “several” (estimated at 10) bandits in Birnin-Magaji/Kiyawa, Zamfara on July 23 and kidnappers abducted five in Jada, Adamawa. Suspected Fulani militia killed seven in Kajuru, Kaduna, the report said.
On July 24, bandits killed 10 in Jema’a and Kaura LGAs of Kaduna.
Bandits planning attack on S/Kaduna during Sallah – Reps
Members of the Southern Kaduna caucus in the House of Representatives, yesterday, raised an alarm over suspected plans by bandits to attack Southern Kaduna communities during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
The caucus members, who made the claim at a press briefing in Abuja, said more needed to be done to stop the incessant killings in their areas.
Speaking on behalf of other members, the House Minority Whip, Gideon Gwani, said: “We, the representatives of the good people of Southern Kaduna, Kaduna State, in the House of Representatives, regardless of our party affiliations, condemn the persistent, inhuman killings and kidnappings of the people of Southern Kaduna.
“It is important to know that we also have information that they’re going to attack massively and ‘co-ordinatedly’ in Southern Kaduna during the Sallah break. We’re calling on our people to be vigilant, and asking them to do all they can to keep themselves alive,” he said.
He said they condemned the incessant raiding, killings and kidnapping of people, describing the actions as unconstitutional, criminal, inhuman and highly condemnable.
According to the caucus, the people of Southern Kaduna have become prey as they have consistently been invaded, slaughtered in cold blood, raped, killed and their properties destroyed and pillaged in public glare.
While lamenting that there was little success in investigating and apprehending the perpetrators of the attacks, the caucus commiserated with all those who had lost their loved ones and property to the attacks.
The presidency had last week said violence and killings in Southern Kaduna persisted because of the “evil combination of politically-motivated banditry, revenge killings and mutual violence by criminal gangs acting on ethnic and religious grounds.”
A statement signed by presidential spokesman Garba Shehu, said “unlike other parts of the country, the problem of Southern Kaduna is more complicated than many critics are ready to acknowledge and understand.”
Gunmen kill 4 policemen in Ebonyi
Gunmen yesterday attacked a bullion van in Ebonyi State, killing four police escorts.
The incident happened at Ezzamgbo Junction in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of the state.
It was gathered that the armed robbers tried to intercept the bullion van which was conveying money to one of the new generation banks located at Ogoja Road in Abakaliki.
As at the time of filing this report, the spokesman of the police command in the state, Loveth Odah, was yet to brief journalists on the incident.
Rejig security apparatus now – NLC
The Nigeria Labour Congress, yesterday, expressed concern about the escalating insecurity and killings in different parts of the country.
NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba, in a statement, urged the federal government to rejig its security apparatus to fight terrorism and violent crimes, saying, “The current system is not working.”
He said the current sad state of affairs took another sad turn with the public execution of five humanitarian workers by the Boko Haram in Borno State.
Wabba said for the past seven months, terrorism of the Boko Haram sect and other violent groups across the country had widened in scope, adding that since January 2020, Boko Haram had increased the wave of terror on major transportation arteries in the North East.
“Many intercity and feeder roads in the region have been completely abandoned to the terrorists, exacerbating the already precarious humanitarian situation in North-East of Nigeria.
“So, many lives have been lost in this renewed orgy of madness. A lot of public infrastructure has been destroyed in the process. Economic activities along Lake Chad Basin have been crippled and farmers in the crisis locations are attacked daily by terrorists,” he said.
He decried the spectre of bloodletting, destruction and dislocation occurring almost on a daily basis in Southern Kaduna, saying: “In northern Kaduna, most parts of Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Taraba, Benue and Plateau states and other parts of North Central Nigeria, kidnapping, cattle rustling and rural banditry have become the domineering narrative.”
A retired army officer, Yahaya Baba Shehu, said Nigerians would never be impressed by ever government is doing if they are living in fear.
“The first responsibility of government is securing the lives of people. The government must stop at nothing in saving the lives of people,” he said.
